SOMETHING ABOUT MARY:
An actor's weekly insight into the rehearsals and performance of Original Theatre Company's latest touring production "Our Country's Good" by Timberlake Wertenbaker

Sneak Peak of the Week:

Actress Rachel Donovan takes time out to discuss her multiple roles in the play and experiences so far....

So Rach, how did you come to work for
Original Theatre Company?I first
heard about Original when I was doing 'The Miser' at the Coventry
Belgrade, with the actress Lin Blakley. She had worked
with Original on 'Vincent in Brixton' and mentioned what a wonderful
experience it had been. Ever since then they were on my radar, so
when a breakdown came into my co-op agency looking for Irish actresses for
their next production of 'Dancing at Lughnasa' I forwarded the details to a
cracking actress, Siobhan O'Kelly. She subsequently got the job, and so
when their following tour for 'See How They Run/Twelfth Night' came in, Siobhan
kindly returned the favour and submitted my name.

You play 3
roles in the play, including a hilarious scene stealing cameo as 'Shitty Meg'.
Have you done a lot of comedy before?I trained in Clown and Mask under John Wright. This background
seems to steer me towards seeking the 'funny bone' in any
character I play. Comedy is definitely what thrills me the most. My
worry with 'Shitty Meg' is that she's very easily played for laughs, so I
consciously try to fight against this. I want her to represent the
'lowest of the low', a convict who has reached a ripe old age by being
manipulative, bold and opportunistic.

What was your
favourite part of rehearsals?Controversially
I loved the early research period in the first week. We studied
individually then reported our findings back to the group, consequently it
felt like a collective learning process.

The real-life
Dabby Bryant's incredible escape from the Australian penal colony, and
subsequent survival, has been well documented and dramatised. Were you able to
practically feed any of this research into your playing of the Dabby we see in
the play?Ultimately the Dabby I'm playing has been informed
by Timberlake's script. Initially I was seduced by other 'versions'
of this historical figure (because there are so many) and I foolishly
thought I could incorporate them all into one mega Dabby! I
attempted to draw up a factual timeline - from her arrival on the colony to
her daring escape - but this clashed with the chronology of the play.
Same thing happened when I collated a list of Dabby'swants/desires/needs
(imagined from the 'historical fiction' books about her) but this
just got in the way of trying to play the intentions of each scene.
However, what I have taken from all these Dabbys is the overriding sense
that she was a survivor - someone who had bags of resolve and an
inner resource of hope. Someone who would employ a mixture of
bullying and encouragement to achieve results. Do you
have any pre-performance rituals which help you prepare each night? I found a couple of folk songs about Dabby, so
they are now on my ipod and I love listening to them while I'm warming up.

The
complex 'friendship' between Dabby and Mary is initiated with Mary being
'pimped out' for food on the ship. But there's a real shift in their
relationship throughout the play. Is it Mary that needs Dabby or vice versa? This shift is nicely
tweaked each time they appear. On the face of things, Mary relies on
Dabby to be her mouthpiece and to secure all her 'contracts'.
But the tide begins to turn by Act 1 Scene 8. In which
Mary finally speaks up, in turn Dabby suppresses her. Dabby
treads a delicate line of motherly manipulation for selfish
gain, but it is Mary who has to 'spoon feed' her the lines. Dabby is
eventually left behind (literally, at the top of Act 2 when she
doesn't appear in 'Visiting Hours') but is this because she has
distanced herself - perhaps preparing physically and mentally for her escape.

If
Dabby had one item that she was allowed to bring to Australia, what would it
be?

Unbelievably
she did bring something back from Oz. Despite being recaptured and
subjected to the worst treatment of all on her return journey to England, Dabby
clutched onto a parcel of dried sweet tea. She had collected this before
they embarked, and eventually gave it in thanks to her emancipator James
Boswell. But my choice item would be....well considering she had nothing,
a piece of Plymouth rock - which would act as her Talisman. A little piece of
home.